This spring, The Cult plans to unleash what frontman Ian Astbury considers "one of the strongest records we've ever made."

Astbury tells Billboard.com that "Choice of Weapon" -- which comes out May 22 and is the quartet's first new studio album in five years -- is "coherent. It's cohesive. It's very confident, and the statements are very bold. Some may feel there's a certain arrogance to it, but I think there's a healthy confidence to this record. We knew it wasn't going to be superficial. The gloves were coming off. We were going to show it as raw and as intimate as we could."

With "plenty of raw material" to draw from, the Cult recorded "Choice of Weapon" sporadically since August, and in two distinct phases. The group first worked with producer Chris Goss (Queens of the Stone Age, Kyuss, U.N.K.L.E.), starting off in what Astbury describes as "a raw, visceral space" before all concerned "kind of exhausted ourselves." The Cult then went to Bob Rock, who produced 1989's platinum "Sonic Temple," for "a fresh set of ears" and a "more refined" and polished sound. Nevertheless, Astbury says the end result is "very authentic."

"I think it's in some ways going to polarize our audience," Astbury predicts. "We certainly didn't sidestep the times that we live in. It deals with our individual experiences and what's going on around us in the world. Our intention was to make a record that was fresh. It's of its time, and we captured exactly where we're at right now, in the early part of the 21st century. I'm watching so many artists just terrified to make a statement of any kind. They're afraid they're going to get ripped apart in the blogosphere or torn apart by some critic who's basically just out of diapers. So many (artists) seem to be scared to come out and say what they feel. A lot of rock 'n' roll music has lost its teeth."

"Choice of Weapon" will be preceded by the first single, "For The Animals," which Astbury says reflects the Cult's attitude about making music. "The Cult is like an archetypal outsider group; we've never really fit in with one particular sect or genre," he explains. "We've never been pigeonholed. We've stayed open to other influences... But some people don't like that. They want to say, 'We know who you are' and they try to put a leash on you. So this is about identifying with a raw, visceral animal. We don't belong to anybody. We go where nature takes us."

The Cult plans to tour to support "Choice of Weapon," though Astbury says plans are "all TBA, TBD, nothing in concrete right now. We're going to be doing a bit of everything. It's possible it could start in the United States; we're looking at that potentiality. We're looking at Europe for the summer, probably a mixture of festivals and our own shows, and larger venues in the U.K. in September. It's just all falling together now."

The Cult's Billy Duffy on Their New Album: 'You Don't Overdo It, Or You End Up With....

On May 22, The Cult will be dropping 'Choice of Weapon,' the group's first studio album in five years. For the new collection, long-time Cult collaborator and producer Bob Rock (Metallica, Bon Jovi), who produced one of band's most successful albums, 1989's 'Sonic Temple,' put the finishing touches on the foundations that were laid by co-producer Chris Goss (Queens of the Stone Age).

"If I wasn't on tour with The Cult, I did a lot of gardening, and stayed at home being a happy househusband," guitarist Billy Duffy laughingly tells Noisecreep about the five years since The Cult's last album, 2007's 'Born Into This.'

Noisecreep was lucky enough to hear a few cuts off of 'Choice of Weapon' and it finds the veteran rockers mining from some of the same instrumental textures as the aforementioned 'Sonic Temple' album, and 2001's 'Between Good and Evil.' "We started the new record with Chris [Goss] and then we hit some scheduling conflicts with him. We also felt like we got really far with some of these songs, but we just couldn't get past the finishing line, so Ian [Astbury, vocals] thought Bob Rock might be able to get us to that point.

"I'm sure we could have done that with Chris as well, but for that moment in time, we needed that fresh perspective that Bob brought in. We've done four albums with Bob, so he knows how we tick, and how to get it done," says Duffy.

'Choice of Weapon' was written by Duffy and Astbury, recorded in New York City, Los Angeles, the California high desert, and the band's Witch Mountain studio between July and December 2011. The band also features drummer John Tempesta (Testament, Helmet) and bassist Chris Wyse (Owl).

"What we do with The Cult is try and let the songs become who they are. It's like school children, you try and give them good guidance, but they're going to end up doing what they want to do. In the end, you have to just relinquish power. You want to capture a feel and document the era when you wrote them. You don't want to overdo it, or you end up with something like 'Chinese Democracy.' You know what I mean?"

The Cult's 'Choice of Weapon' will be out on May 22 via Cooking Vinyl.

It’s been five years since the Cult have released a new full-length album, but all that will change come May 22 when the band drops ‘Choice of Weapon’ via Cooking Vinyl Records. In the meantime, the new song ‘Lucifer’ is available as a free download below.

‘Choice of Weapon’ is a diverse collection of new songs written by the core duo of singer Ian Astbury and guitarist Billy Duffy. The disc was co-produced by Chris Goss and the legendary Bob Rock, both long time friends of the band, Rock having produced some of the band’s most successful releases to date including 1989’s ‘Sonic Temple.’

We caught up with guitarist Billy Duffy to get his thoughts on ’Lucifer,’ the first song from the upcoming disc that the band is releasing to the public. Much to our surprise, the tune isn’t about the crimson colored, horn-rimmed evil fiend from down under as the name would suggest, in fact, according to Duffy, “It’s absolutely nothing to do with the devil at all, that’s what’s pretty funny. It couldn’t be less to do with that than ‘Karma Chameleon.’” He went on to explain, “It’s not about that at all, it’s about a person in a hedonist lifestyle.”

When Loudwire asked Duffy his take on the song, he told us, “’Lucifer’ to me would be like more about the bridge scene in ‘Apocalypse Now,’ – when I listen to ‘Lucifer’, that’s what I think about. It’s about excess.”

Weighing in on the sonic aspects of the song that starts off pretty heavy, Duffy described it as follows: “This song lends itself to a guitar, acid trip, gun fight.”

The album artwork seen below, depicts a veiled shaman. Ian Astbury spoke to Rolling Stone about the significance: “I wanted to have an image that in some way reflected the sentiment of not only the record, of the deepest sentiment of the record, but also the sentiment of what’s going on in society.

Listen to ‘Lucifer’ below and check back with Loudwire shortly for our full interview with Billy Duffy.

On May 22, the Cult will be releasing 'Choice of Weapon,' the group's first studio album in five years. For the new collection, they started the project with producer Chris Goss (Queens of the Stone Age) and closed it out with their longtime collaborator Bob Rock (Metallica, Bon Jovi), who also produced one of band's most successful albums, 1989's 'Sonic Temple.'

The Cult vocalist Ian Astbury spoke with Spinner about the new album and how living in New York City inspired it.

The last thing The Cult released was a "capsule," featuring two new songs, live recordings of some of the band's huge hits and exclusive video footage, in 2010. Can you reiterate why you did that then and chose to do an album now?

We wanted to release music, but didn't want to get entrenched in the process. We didn't want to go back to a label and were not in the space to do an entire album. We were accumulating material, and wanted to get songs out there and the idea of an EP didn't fit contemporary modality of the digital realm. I was looking at fashion collections, in high-end street fashion, where branded designer labels did smaller collections.

Yes, diffusion lines, like Marc by Marc Jacobs or See by Chloe.

Yes, so you know the concept. It's smaller, quicker, easy to digest, you move on. It's a wonderful idea for music.

How did you get to this point, where you wanted to make an album again?

For the second capsule, we thought, "Now we have an album's worth of material." We were looking at each other, thinking, "There is an album there." We had people banging on the door, wanting to work with us, so we acquiesced. We can go back to the capsules anytime.

What was your headspace with the record?

Over the course of making this record and the genesis and origins of this record, in terms of material, there was a lot of real life happening and real life celebrations -- things were affected by, like, political situations. I was in New York making this record. I left about a year ago, after three years there. It's a constant muse. I've lived there on three different occasions and probably will again. Something about that city, it's like a monastic existence. The streets became like canyons to me. I'm still in the psychoanalysis phase, doing first interviews for the record.

What is the weapon of choice, or choice weapon?

'Choice of Weapon' is the title, and it evolved through many permutations, like 'Weapon of Choice' or 'Choice of Weapons.' I had like 30. 'Choice of Weapon' struck me, since you're having a choice, as individuals and society, and the weapon is a metaphor or it could be a mantra. Or a knife or a gun. Or a pen. Your art, creativity can be your weapon of cultural revolution.

It's spiritual, too. We can inflict violence or share knowledge, and this permeates throughout the songs, which are about experiences where I had to make a choice or decision. It's lyrically very intimate. It's loss, celebration and how can we not be caught up in the Occupy movement or the farcical political circus that we see every day? It's blasts of feel good rock 'n' roll, and it's more cinematic.

The Cult's "She Sells Sanctuary" will be featured in Budweiser's new Super Bowl commercial running this Sunday.

The Cult and Flo Rida Mash-Up to Be Featured in Super Bowl Ad'She Sells Sanctuary,' the 1985 modern rock staple from The Cult, and Sunshine State rapper Flo Rida's Top 10 smash 'Good Feelin,' will be featured this Sunday as a mashup in one of Budweiser's Super Bowl commercials.

The one-minute spot is a celebratory romp through several decades of great times in the good ole' US of A, beginning at the end of Prohibition in 1933.

Written by The Cult's guitarist Billy Duffy and vocalist Ian Astbury, 'She Sells Sanctuary' reached #15 on the U.K. charts and was a Top 40 dance hit in the U.S. The song comes off of 'Love,' the British group's sophomore album.

As popular as the song became, Duffy tells Noisecreep that 'She Sells Sanctuary,' and the 'Love' album, weren't hits with the rock press in their homeland when they were initially released in 1985.

"I remember when 'Love' came out, it was received really warmly throughout the world, except in the U.K. where the rock critics hated it. It was like we committed some mortal sin. They hated it because it was a rock record in the middle of the '80s. I guess they wanted Howard Jones and 'Karma Chameleon,' instead of guys with loud guitars that looked good. Maybe it was because of all of the journalist's girlfriends wanted to sleep with us. Maybe they were mad because we had a cute lead singer. I don't really know," laughs Duffy.

"The Cult’s Mr. IAN ASTBURY has for many years been one of my favorite teachers, wise men, thinkers, writers, philosophers, singers and all out agent of generosity. I think that Mr. Astbury and his views and vision are more poignant and important Today than ever before. Cheers to Pa Wolfchild*"